Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo' Chapter 1270 605: Flowers God (Part 3)

Shen Rongqing turned and left, while He Jiaqing sat on the sofa, continuing to read the newspaper.

Duan Shuqun sat next to the sofa, unsure of what to say, feeling awkward, when an account manager came to report financial issues.

Zhang Xiuling wasn't very skilled in management, and the business of the Hundred Flowers Gate was quite chaotic, with many problems indeed.

This account manager was a godsend for Duan Shuqun: "Jia Qing, I'll go and check the accounts first."

He found an excuse to leave, leaving only He Jiaqing and Big Head in the hall.

Big Head didn't feel awkward; He Jiaqing read the newspaper, and he followed suit.

After a while, He Jiaqing suddenly spoke: "Puluo State is like this; only after seeing blood do they know fear. He's afraid of you, that's why he watches you intently,

now they're afraid of me and keep watching me. Mr. Kong Fang and the Stealing Master are afraid of being seen, so they won't come looking for me. Apart from that, what other benefits do you think I can get?"

Big Head couldn't guess, and He Jiaqing laughed: "Cheating the world, whether using real names or fake names, whether a good name or a bad one, the bigger the fame, the stronger the momentum!"

Big Head didn't understand the essence of cheating the world, nor did he understand what "stronger momentum" meant.

Above the Clouds, everyone has their cultivation methods, only He Jiaqing can sense that his cultivation level is skyrocketing.

...

Zhang Xiuling and Fu Lianhong were hiding in an outer residence, not daring to show themselves for several days.

Fu Lianhong felt the storm had passed, so she arranged for guide tokens and train tickets, planning to hide at the Ink Shop for a while. Zhang Xiuling's reputation among literati was significant, and once in the land of literati, He Jiaqing shouldn't dare to act recklessly.

The two didn't dare to take a car; they took their Traveling Cultivation Spiritual Objects and dashed straight to the train station.

When passing through a deep alley, Zhang Xiuling's legs suddenly went weak, and she collapsed to the ground. Fu Lianhong leaned down to help her, and when she looked up again, she saw He Jiaqing standing in front of them.

When did he arrive?

Fu Lianhong prepared to draw her weapon, but Zhang Xiuling stopped her.

He Jiaqing said: "Sister Xiu Ling, I've organized a literary salon and would like to invite you to have a look."

Zhang Xiuling smiled: "I have urgent matters, won't be able to make it today."

"If Puluo State's first talented woman doesn't attend, I'm afraid I can't hold the scene."

"I'm not the first talented woman; this title should go to Rongqing." Zhang Xiuling shielded Fu Lianhong behind her and signaled her to leave quickly.

"Literature has no first, martial arts have no second. How about this, you and Rongqing have a competition tonight, let's see who truly deserves the title of first talented woman!" He Jiaqing specifically looked at Fu Lianhong behind Zhang Xiuling, pressing down his palm, signaling her not to move, neither of them could escape.

Fu Lianhong understood the situation and drew a pen from her waist, ready to use the Searching Ink Technique.

Among Cultivation Escape Skills, the Searching Ink Technique was the most convenient. Fu Lianhong had a sixth-layer cultivation level, and the Searching Ink Technique was used expertly; she didn't need to write character by character, a flick of ink could transform into characters, encircling He Jiaqing.

But she flicked her brush for ages, no ink drops materialized.

Did she forget to fill it with ink before leaving?

This brush was Fu Lianhong's most important weapon, with a storage chamber specifically for ink within the handle. Fu Lianhong tried the weight, there should be at least half a handle full of ink.

Yet, she couldn't flick the ink out, Fu Lianhong flicked multiple times, the brush grew lighter, but not a single drop of ink was visible.

Fu Lianhong was anxious about failing to use the technique, when Zhang Xiuling cut open her finger, squeezing out blood, getting ready to use the Word Worth a Thousand Gold technique.

This was Zhang Xiuling's most mastered technique, blood-written words had high combat strength, Zhang Xiuling was confident she could stall He Jiaqing for a while, giving Fu Lianhong a chance to escape.

The bloodied finger brushed across the wall, yet Zhang Xiuling couldn't write a single character, the wall was spotless, not a trace of blood.

He Jiaqing pointed to the ground, indicating Zhang Xiuling could try somewhere else.

Zhang Xiuling's hand trembled.

She crouched, trying to write with her fingertip, yet no blood marks emerged on the ground.

What was happening?

He Jiaqing glanced around: "How about another place?"

Zhang Xiuling gritted her teeth, secretly scooping a handful of sand from the roadside.

She stood straight, asking He Jiaqing: "Why can't you give me a way out?"

He Jiaqing glanced at Zhang Xiuling's right hand, chuckled: "Trying to write with sand? How many words do you intend to write? I'm waiting here for you."

Fine sand seeped between Zhang Xiuling's fingers, she indeed planned to write with sand.

He Jiaqing was too bold, seeing through Zhang Xiuling's intentions but not stopping her, Zhang Xiuling's fingertip trembled, she wrote the word "knife" on the ground.

Zhang Xiuling flicked her wrist, attempting to send the "knife" character to attack He Jiaqing's face, but how useful could just one "word" be?

Ordinary people didn't understand Zhang Xiuling's methods, but Fu Lianhong did, this "knife" character would shatter before He Jiaqing, turning as fine as sand.

Each grain of sand would transform into a knife, according to Zhang Xiuling's estimates, He Jiaqing faced with besiege, would have at least twenty seconds to fend off the blades, giving them an opportunity to flee.

The plan was clear, Zhang Xiuling waved her hand, but the "knife" on the ground didn't take flight.

Where did the "knife" character go?

Zhang Xiuling looked down, there was no "knife" on the ground, nor did the sand she previously scattered remain.

He Jiaqing rubbed his fingers, watching grains of sand slide from them.

He had stolen the sand.

Right before their eyes, he had taken the sand from the ground, and they hadn't noticed a thing.